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Russia has become a danger to Britain and the country must be prepared to take steps to defend itself and its allies, the former head of MI6 says. Sir John Sawers, who recently retired after five years as chief of the Secret Intelligence Service, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that Russia poses a "state to state threat".

Many Arabs and Muslims see the meeting between Obama and Qatar's al-Thani as a gift to Qatar for its continued support of Islamic radical groups across the Middle East, including Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. On the eve of Obama's meeting, Egyptian sources revealed that Qatar was providing weapons and ammunition to members of the Islamic State in Libya. The sources said that 35 Qatari aircraft were involved in transferring munitions. Arab political analysts are also concerned about Obama's ongoing attempts to appease Iran, which continues to expand its presence in Arab countries such as Yemen, Iraq...

NOT a single welfare payment has been cancelled for terrorist recruits leaving Australia for the Middle East, or those merely deemed a national security threat, since new laws were enacted last October to crack down on the so-called welfare warriors. The Daily Telegraph revealed at the weekend that 96 per cent of the junior ­jihadis who snuck out of the country before last September had been on some form of welfare payment, prompting the introduction of new laws to stop it. ... Subsequent inquiries, however, have revealed that the new laws have yet to be used, despite some 40 more...

Showing him with a goatee beard and wearing a Pittsburgh Pirates baseball cap, the image is revealed in student records from his time at the University of Westminster. It comes after the 26-year-old who became the masked face of the notorious terror organisation was identified as the figure seen in several videos of hostages being beheaded. Sky News can also exclusively reveal details of Emwazi's academic achievements during his stint at the university in London's Cavendish campus, between 2006 and 2009. According to the document, he passed all but two of the modules in his Information Systems with Business Management...

So much for the jobs program. The ISIS terrorist who became known as “Jihadi John� for his British accent in videos depicting the brutal beheading of Americans James Foley and Steven Sotloff has been identified today by the Washington Post as Mohammed Emwazi, based on information from intelligence sources. Emwazi’s life was hardly Dickensian: The world knows him as “Jihadi John,” the masked man with a British accent who has beheaded several hostages held by the Islamic State and who taunts audiences in videos circulated widely online.But his real name, according to friends and others familiar with his case,...

A paratrooper who showed "complete disregard" for his own safety during a Taliban attack in Afghanistan has been awarded the Victoria Cross - the highest British military honour.

LONDON (Reuters) - The "Jihadi John" killer who has featured in several Islamic State beheading videos is Mohammed Emwazi, a Briton from a middle class family who grew up in London and graduated from college with a degree in computer programming, the Washington Post newspaper said.

Since 2001, the British authorities have systematically shifted the spotlight away from its foreign policy and its security agencies by placing blame for violence at home and abroad solely on Muslims. British security services have systematically engaged in the harassment of young Muslims, rendering their lives impossible and leaving them with no legal avenue to redress their situation. A Washington Post correspondent contacted CAGE regarding a story she was working on. CAGE Research Director, Asim Qureshi met with the journalist, where she inquired about the name Mohammad Emwazi. Qureshi went away with that information and checked CAGE’s files, revealing that...

ISIS militant ‘Jihadi John’ unmasked as middle-class Brit By Yaron Steinbuch February 26, 2015 | 7:16am The infamous masked ISIS madman seen in gruesome videos beheading Western hostages was identified by media outlets Thursday as Mohammed Emwazi — a middle-class Briton with a degree in computer programming. The BBC reported that the Kuwaiti-born Emwazi is in his mid-20s and from West London. British authorities chose not to identify him earlier for operational reasons. “I have no doubt that Mohammed is Jihadi John,” one of Emwazi’s close friends told the Washington Post. “He was like a brother to me. . . . I...

A British paratrooper who ran through heavy fire to single-handedly lead the fight back against a Taliban attack has become the first living recipient of the Victoria Cross from the Afghanistan campaign. L/Cpl Joshua Leakey has been awarded Britain’s highest award for bravery in the face of the enemy more than 70 years after a relative posthumously won the same medal.

Young girls are still being targeted for sex by groups of men on the streets of Rotherham, the town’s MP has said. Sarah Champion, who is seeking improved support and protection for sex-grooming victims, said that vulnerable children in the South Yorkshire town continued to fall victim to the same pattern of abuse that had led to the pimping and trafficking of hundreds of girls.

This seems like a solid enough news hook to revisit a theme I addressed shortly after the Paris attacks, when the Obama administration’s ‘radical-Islamist-violence-has-nothing-to-do-with-Islam’ rhetoric was in full throat. Via The Telegraph: One in four British Muslims sympathise with terrorists behind the Charlie Hebdo attacks, a new poll shows. A poll reveals how a significant minority of Muslims endorse terrorist atrocities against those who mock the Prophet Mohammed. Some 27 per cent of British Muslims said they have “some sympathy for the motives behind the attacks� on the Paris magazine, according to polling by ComRes for the BBC. A...

Britons have anxiously followed for nearly a week the hunt for three missing teenage schoolgirls who aren’t “missing” at all. The trio appear to have evaded efforts to track them down as they journeyed to Syria to join Islamic State. Authorities say the three girls lied to their families about their plans for the day on Feb. 17 to buy time to fly from London’s Gatwick Airport to Istanbul. From there they are believed to have traveled into Syria. One of the three allegedly was in contact via social media with Aqsa Mahmood, a 20-year-old Scottish woman who also became...

The European Union’s executive has unveiled a vast plan to boost coordination between the EU’s 28 national energy markets to wean Europe off unstable Russian gas supplies and provide cheaper energy for consumers. European Commission Vice President Maroš Šef�ovi� on Wednesday called it “undoubtedly the most ambitious energy project” since the inception of the EU over half a century ago. He believes that improving links across borders in Europe’s energy grid could save businesses and consumers up to €40 billion ($45.4 billion) a year. A more energy-independent Europe will also increase the EU’s political options in eastern Europe. […] “Our...

This morning the BBC published details of a major poll of the attitudes of Britain’s Muslims. The headline on the front of the BBC website linking to the research states: “Muslims ‘oppose cartoon reprisals’”. This of course relates to attitudes within the Muslim community towards the recent Charlie Hebdo attacks. It’s a reassuring headline. It’s also wrong. Many Muslims - a majority - do indeed utterly oppose the murderous killings in Paris. But a very, very large number of Muslims don’t. Presented with the statement “I have some sympathy for the motives behind the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris”, 27...

Sales of Fairtrade goods have fallen for the first time since the ethical trading scheme was founded 20 years ago as cash-strapped consumers tighten their belts. The slide of almost 4%, after years of double-digit growth, reflects wider troubles in the grocery market as shoppers put less in their baskets and turn to cheaper chains such as Aldi and Lidl in a bid to save money.

The United Kingdom stunned officials across Europe with a unilateral announcement that it would send 75 troops to Ukraine within the month to train the country's embattled forces in four skill sets – infantry, intelligence, logistics and medical. “Over the course of the next month we are going to be deploying British service personnel to provide advice and a range of training, from tactical intelligence to logistics to medical care, which is something else they have asked for," UK Prime Minister David Cameron said on “We will also be developing an infantry training programme with Ukraine to improve the durability...

Feb 24 (Reuters) - Lockheed Martin Corp's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter will start "ski-jump testing" at a Maryland air base this week, while another B-model jet wraps up six months of tests at temperatures as low as minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 40 Celsius) to as high as 120 F (49 C). Two UK pilots will test the ability of the new warplane to take off from upward-sloping ski-jump ramps used on aircraft carriers like those operated by Britain and Italy. The ramps launch the jets forward and upward, reducing the thrust needed. Sylvia Pierson, spokeswoman for the Pentagon's F-35...

Americans are becoming increasingly more suspicious struggling to find rhyme or reason for Obama’s latest Middle East policies. Rudy Giuliani seems to attribute Obama’s policies to be influenced through his affiliations with radical socialists like Frank Marshall Davis. But serious questions will prove that Obama’s policies are not different than a Muslim who supports the revival of the Muslim grand caliphate. Was Obama influenced only by a Marxist-Leninist agenda or did he also not grow up Muslim, having learned how to recite the Muslim call to prayer in the classical Arabic tongue as he clearly admits? Can anyone even deny...

Kurdish fighters in the Syrian town of Hassakeh have been involved in fierce fighting with Isil jihadists including Chechens. A Christian militia formed to protect the community as Syria falls apart is fighting its first major battle against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil), attacking across a front in the north-east of the country before being driven back again in a fierce counter-blow. Christian groups said they were checking a report that up to 200 civilians had been kidnapped by Isil jihadists in the fighting and were being held as hostages. A number of fighters from the militia,...

Britain was pulled closer towards a renewed cold war with Russia when David Cameron announced UK military trainers are to be deployed to help Ukraine forces stave off further Russian backed incursions into its sovereign territory. The decision – announced on Tuesday but under consideration by the UK national security council since before Christmas – represents the first deployment of British troops to the country since the near civil war in eastern Ukraine began more than a year ago. Downing Street said the deployment was not just a practical bilateral response to a request for support, but a signal to...

British troops will be deployed in Ukraine to train soldiers fighting Russian separatists, David Cameron has said, as he delivered an extraordinary warning to Vladimir Putin over his continued aggression in eastern Europe. The Prime Minister said that there would be "deeply damaging" consequences for all of Europe if the EU fails to stand up to Mr Putin in Ukraine, predicting that the Russian president could turn against the Baltic states or Moldova if he is not reined in now. He warned that Mr Putin has opted out of the “rules-based system” of the twenty-first century and warned that the...

Ash Carter has quietly thrown down the gauntlet in a lingering dispute with Russia: If President Vladimir Putin continues to violate the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, the U.S. could respond in kind. “The range of options we should look at from the Defense Department could include active defenses to counter intermediate-range ground-launched cruise missiles; counter-force capabilities to prevent intermediate-range ground-launched cruise missile attacks; and countervailing strike capabilities to enhance U.S. or allied forces,” Carter told senators in little-noticed written answers to follow-up questions from his confirmation hearing. The defense secretary’s bottom line: “U.S. responses must make clear to Russia that...

KYIV, February 20 /Ukrinform/.The idea of nuclear disarmament has failed and led to a selective reduction of the nuclear arsenal in the world, and, as a result, Ukraine received guarantees that are not performed in exchange for unilateral disarmament. Former Secretary General of NATO [1999-2004] and Secretary of State for Defence and Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland George Robertson expressed this opinion in his article for Herald Scotland, an Ukrinform correspondent reported. "I started my own political career, as many people know, carrying a Ban the Bomb banner. By giving up the Bomb I believed that we would give...

More than 370,000 migrants who were admitted to Britain to work, study or go on holiday are now claiming out-of-work benefits, according to official figures compiled for the first time. The migrants, who can claim unemployment, housing and incapacity benefit, are costing taxpayers billions of pounds a year. In other countries, many would have had to return home after their visas expired or their employment ended. But Chris Bryant, shadow immigration minister, today blamed the Government and said the situation would only get worse due to lax border controls, rising migration and increasing unemployment. He said: "Tory ministers are resorting...

Islamic 'Radicals' At The Heart Of Whitehall Baroness Warsi gave official roles to people with links to Islamist groups By Andrew Gilligan 22 Feb 2015 Entryism, the favourite tactic of the 1980s’ Militant Tendency, is when a political party or institution is infiltrated by groups with a radically different agenda. Since Militant’s Trotskyites were expelled from the Labour Party, the word has rather fallen out of fashion. But now, according to one Muslim leader, Islamic radicals are practising entryism of their own — into the heart of Whitehall – courtesy of a woman who was until recently a government minister....

At a time when more and more people are becoming wary of generically-modified foods in their diet, the United Kingdom is poised to begin creating genetically-modified children with the genetic material of three people, two women and one man; a genetic combination that could not occur naturally.And the way the UK goes, the United States may soon  follow.The average person may feel totally overwhelmed by the science and helpless to do anything about it. Unfortunately, we cannot stick our heads in the sand and do nothing. If we ignore this problem it will not go away. If we stay silent...

Anyone who thought political correctness had croaked, joining neon leg warmers, mullets and MC Hammer in the graveyard of bad ideas from the late 1980s and 1990s, should think again. When even someone as gay-friendly and Guardian-hued as Benedict Cumberbatch can be hounded for incorrectness, you know no one’s safe. So what can you say? Here’s an A-to-Z guide to the new PC. A is for America. One-time land of the free, founded by un-PC white dudes partial to a drink and sex with slaves, but more recently the birthplace of identity politics (see under I) and 21st-century taboos (see...

Molten Salt Reactors enjoy 15 minutes of fame 11 June 2014   Print Email   A next-generation fast breeder reactor design is gaining popularity in research circles.On 6 June, UK researchers Jasper Tomlinson and Trevor Griffiths won £75,000 in Technology Strategy Board funding (including £20,000 of contributions-in-kind) to carry out an eight-month feasibility study.The project, which will be managed by mechanical engineer Rory O'Sullivan, aims to develop a ranking of alternatives and configurations of a liquid-fuelled molten-salt reactor, including costs, regulatory, public acceptance and site issues for building and licensing a pilot-scale demonstration reactor in the UK. It would...

Telegraph View: We are proud to combine journalistic excellence with commercial success and we will continue to do so. This newspaper makes no apology for the way in which it has covered the HSBC group and the allegations of wrongdoing by its Swiss subsidiary, allegations that have been so enthusiastically promoted by the BBC, the Guardian and their ideological soulmates in the Labour Party. We have covered this matter as we do all others, according to our editorial judgment and informed by our values. Foremost among those values is a belief in free enterprise and free markets. We are proud...

David Cameron has been warned that Britain cannot afford any more defense cuts in the wake of the growing threat posed by Vladimir Putin—despite claiming the UK military is strong enough to fend off Russian aggression. The Conservative chair of the Defense Select Committee, Rory Stewart, said Mr. Putin was watching to see if Britain was going soft on defense. He said Britain’s military could not stand another round of defense cuts after the election. Mr. Stewart’s stark warning comes after RAF fighters were scrambled to escort two Russian bombers in international airspace off the coast of Cornwall yesterday. A...

RAF fighters were scrambled after two Russian bear bombers were spotted off the coast of Cornwall, the Ministry of Defence has said. The Typhoon jets, from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, escorted the Russian aircraft which were flying in international airspace close to the UK yesterday afternoon, an MoD spokesman said. An MoD spokesman said: `"RAF Quick Reaction Alert Typhoon fighter aircraft were launched yesterday after Russian aircraft were identified flying close to UK airspace. “The Russian planes were escorted by the RAF until they were out of the UK area of interest. At no time did the Russian military aircraft...

Vowing to “avenge Egyptian blood,” Egypt’s military forces on Monday unleashed abrupt-yet-foreseeable airstrikes on ISIS targets in Libya. The early-morning bombing came as a rapid response to ISIS’ release of a gruesome video showing the execution of 21 Coptic Christian hostages, who had reportedly been held hostage since January. Egypt is currently not part of the U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition striking militant targets in Iraq and Syria since August 2014, but events in Libya and a militant insurgency in the Sinai may force President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to ramp up his plan of action. Is Egypt’s aerial campaign a quick, jabbing...

Fighting has flared up again in the Ukraine. The Egyptians are sending soldiers into Libya as another North African state collapses into chaos. The militants of Islamic State are spreading their influence across the region. You’d think Barack Obama might have bigger foreign policy issues to worry about than a small state of 10 million people on the eastern edges of the Mediterranean. But Greece may be about to turn from a European into an American problem. As the game of brinkmanship between the radical Syriza government elected last month and the European Union gets played out, it has become...

Five years ago I was invited to become the chief political commentator of the Telegraph. It was a job I was very proud to accept. The Telegraph has long been the most important conservative-leaning newspaper in Britain, admired as much for its integrity as for its superb news coverage. When I joined the Telegraph had just broken the MPs’ expenses scandal, the most important political scoop of the 21st century. I was very conscious that I was joining a formidable tradition of political commentary. I spent my summer holiday before taking up my duties as columnist reading the essays of...

US State Department reported to say Israelis would ‘twist details’ to undermine negotiations European officials have confirmed that the US State Department cautioned them against providing Israel with sensitive information on the current round of negotiations with Iran over its alleged nuclear weapons program, The New York Times reported Tuesday. The account came amid vehement denials by the White House and State Department that they had stopped updating Jerusalem on the progress in the talks, even though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted Monday that Israel was indeed being kept in the dark. The report quoted an unnamed European official involved...

The White House is accusing Israel of "cherry-picking" information that distorts the U.S. position in nuclear talks with Iran. “There's no question that some of the things that the Israelis have said in characterizing our negotiating position have not been accurate. There's no question about that,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest said during a press briefing on Wednesday. "We've also been very clear about the fact that the United States is not going to be in a position of negotiating this agreement in public, particularly when we see that there is a continued practice of cherry-picking specific pieces of...

A former chairwoman of Labour's ruling National Executive Committee says she has left the party to support UKIP at the general election. Harriet Yeo, a councillor in Kent, said she had become "disillusioned" with Labour's stance on Europe. She said she only trusted UKIP to offer a choice on the UK's membership of the EU. But she will not join the party. Labour said it was united on Europe and than an EU exit would "cost British jobs and influence". Ms. Yeo claimed the majority of Labour's shadow cabinet wanted a referendum on the EU, but "are being told to...

Channel 4 documdrama UKIP: The First 100 Days has prompted more than 700 complaints to media watchdog Ofcom since its broadcast on Monday night. The program depicted rioting on the streets after UKIP win the general election, mixing archive footage with imagined scenes. Channel 4, which has defended the programme, has also had 250 complaints. Ofcom said: "We will assess these complaints before deciding whether to investigate or not." UKIP party leader Nigel Farage is among those who have condemned the programme. "Looks like 100 Days of UKIP may well have backfired on Channel 4. A biased, partisan depiction of...

One of Labour's most senior figures has resigned from the party and will be supporting Ukip because of Ed Miliband's failure to offer a referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union. Harriet Yeo, who was chairman of Labour's ruling body between 2012 and 2013, is so disillusioned with Mr Miliband's refusal to offer a vote that she will be throwing her support behind Nigel Farage's party. She represents the most senior Labour figure to switch allegiances to Ukip to date, although there are suggestions that several Labour MPs are considering defecting.

Republican White House hopefuls have long treated London as a useful backdrop. Ronald Reagan met Margaret Thatcher three times there before he won his party’s nomination (and before she had moved into Downing Street). But this time the parade of aspirants is faster and thicker than before. Staging a London photo-op conveys two messages — it shows foreign policy credentials and asserts the value of old alliances. Both are qualities President Barack Obama supposedly lacks. Visiting the UK is shorthand for a resurgent post-Obama America. In practice, however, London-as-prop is only highlighting the dearth of thinking on both sides of...

Ukip leader will speak at CPAC summit where plastic fetuses are handed out by anti-abortion activists. Nigel Farage will speak alongside some of the most extreme conservatives in US politics Nigel Farage will speak alongside Sarah Palin and some of America's most extreme Right-wing conservatives at a conference in Washington next week. The Ukip leader will share a stage with a host of gun activists, Tea Party leaders and anti-abortion campaigners at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). Visitors to the summit are sometimes handed plastic fetuses by Evangelical Christian activists as a symbol of their opposition to abortion,...

Channel 4 was last night accused of anti-democratic ´fear-mongering´ for airing a controversial drama about what life would be like with Nigel Farage as Prime Minister. UKIP: The First Hundreds Days painted a highly-critical vision of Britain under UKIP rule, including a country divided by race riots, mass unemployment and a crashing economy. Channel 4 said it ordered the drama - which lampooned UKIP, its leaders and its supporters - as a way of engaging people in politics in the run-up to the May General Election.

Alzheimer’s Breakthrough: Scientists Home In On Molecule Which Halts Development of Disease Cambridge scientists raise prospect of new generation of treatments after finding technique to limit development of biggest cause of dementia By John Bingham, 16 Feb 2015 Scientists have found a method which could potentially stop the growth of Alzheimer’s disease in its tracks, raising the prospect of a wave of new treatments for the condition. A team at Cambridge University, working with partners in Sweden and Estonia, has identified a molecule which can block the progress of Alzheimer’s at a crucial stage in its development. Not only is...

Mohammed Ammer Ali, 31, was arrested in a joint raid by north-west counter terrorism unit and Merseyside police.A man from Liverpool has been charged with attempting to obtain a chemical weapon, police have said. The 31-year-old was arrested following a joint raid by the north-west counter-terrorism unit (NWCTU) and Merseyside police. He was named as Mohammed Ammer Ali, of Prescot Road, Liverpool, and will appear at Westminster magistrates court on Tuesday. The charge followed an investigation by NWCTU and Merseyside police, according to Greater Manchester police (GMP). He is accused of attempting to have a chemical weapon in his possession...

Greece is on a collision course with the eurozone’s creditor powers after emergency talks ended in acrimony on Monday night, triggering the most serious political crisis since the launch of the euro. The Leftist Syriza government reacted with fury to eurozone demands that it must stick to the country’s discredited austerity plan, describing the draft text as “absurd and unacceptable”.

Greece's pleas to stop the "fiscal waterboarding" of its devastated economy are substantively no different from President Obama's repeated warnings to Germany to stop bleeding the euro area economy with excessive fiscal austerity. Sadly, the president's reportedly more than a dozen phone calls to the German Chancellor Merkel in 2011 and 2012 urging supportive economic policies in the euro area fell on deaf ears. These calls were not just brushed aside; they were plainly ridiculed as Chancellor Merkel kept telling the media that "it made no sense to be adding new debt to old debt." But -- worrying about one-fifth...

There’s a minor domestic crisis in any family when the fridge-freezer breaks down. Wasted food; no fresh milk; pools of water on the kitchen floor. But for some households, the demise of the washing machine, the tumble dryer or the telly is more than a hiccup – it throws up a major financial challenge. That’s where firms like BrightHouse come in: pop into one of its 291 stores, and instead of having to find several hundred pounds up front, you can replace a busted appliance for a much more manageable £10-£15 a week. Except there’s a sting in the tail....

The Conservatives have opened up a four-point lead over Labour after the biggest surge in their support for two years, a poll has suggested. A Guardian/ ICM poll showed that the Tories are six points up to 36 per cent, only one point short of their result in the 2010 General Election. Labour support fell one point to 32 per cent, while the Liberal Democrats were also down a point to 10 per cent.

REPLACING Trident with a nuclear deterrent dropped from the air would save up to £13 billion for priority defence equipment spending, a think-tank has claimed in a new report. Trident nuclear submarines at Faslane are an “expensive and excessive” solution to the UK deterrence requirements and would have been ineffective even during the Cold War, CentreForum said in its analysis. Instead, the UK’s forthcoming F-35 Joint Strike Fighters – a stealth aircraft bought for conventional missions – should be adapted to deliver a “minimum nuclear deterrent” based upon a stockpile of 100 British built B61-12 nuclear bombs, the “independent liberal”...